Annie B's Spanish Weddings!

My rooftop azotea has been the setting for many fun and crazy things over the years so when Ken and Jackie asked if they could use it as the setting to recommit to each other in front of their teenage children, to celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary, I answered with a very definite YES.

Having found the services of Ale to guide them through the event and Marco to speedily make commitment rings, the bride and groom arrived with 3 bewildered children - wondering what was happening. They thought their parents were dragging them off to a Flamenco class!

Both Ken and Jackie had prepared little vows for each other. And with a splash of Cava and Sherry, it was one of the most romantic moments ever!

And the next one please!!

The fino things in life | Travel

A great article by Charles Campion in London's Evening Standard about the glories of Jerez and Sherry.

The fino things in life | Travel

Cooking for One

Blissful lunch for ONE! Yummy green beans and pinenuts bought in Tangiers yesterday with BBQ Moroccan Spiced Chicken and Sunday's Baba Ganouj (which tastes even better today). Plus a fab chilled Mahou. Don't ever think that cooking for one can't be fun :-)

Bakewell Paper Management

Poor Juan the Fruteria I pester him most days with the same question – ¿De donde?. Provenance. If it’s not from the provinces of Cádiz, Grenada or Málaga – I think twice. I reluctantly support the poly tunnel barons of Almeria in times of emergency. However, there are times when kitchen staples such as oranges, lemons and grapes are just not in season here. If not available in Spain, you can be sure they come from South America. At a push, in August, oranges will even be coming from South Africa. It’s not that I’m working on reducing my carbon footprint, more that I work on supporting what’s local and seasonal. On just about everything – that is everything apart from bakewell paper and chocolate.That I bring from UK. Oh yes - Waitrose Essential Baking Parchment is TOTALLY essential in my life. You can almost find a substitute for every kitchen ingredient but there is no substitute for this magical paper.

Travel Guru at Annie B's Spanish Kitchen

It's always such a pleasure to welcome new visitors to the kitchen but even more so when they love their experience enough to shout it from their blog!!

Thank you Cathy. Come back for more Sherry soon.

http://travelgurutv.blogspot.com/2011/05/cadiz-region-cookery-course.html

Roof with a View

The crowning glory of Annie B's Spanish Kitchen is without doubt the azotea (roof terrace). If you tell someone Spanish you have an azotea, they will know you are in Andalucia. They are only refered to as azoteas in this part of Spain.

On days like today when the sky is the deepest blue and the sun is waving at me, the view from my azotea never fails to take my breath away. Nothing ever looks as good when taken with my camera (unless you can eat it!) however in this photo you are looking over the beach at Zahara de los Atunes, towards the northern coast of Morocco. Everything that enters into the Med does so through this Estrecho - ships, boats, basking sharks, whales, dolphins and of course the blue fin tuna at this time of year.

This azotea is an idyllic place to sip on your chilled Manzanilla and munch on a few olives whilst the world remains static in front of you.

Ven y disfruta

It's Almost Summer at Annie B's Spanish Kitchen

It's almost summer here in Vejer. The tomatoes are getting sweeter, the strawberries more red, the Almadraba is about to start, asparagus season is here and the 2010 Rosados are yummy! Glorious blue skies and warm sunny evenings

Yesterdays class - appreciating Vejer, Manzanilla, Boquerones, Gambas, Corvina a la Sal con Salsa Verde, Gloria Moscatel from Chiclana, Orange & Almond Cake, Barbadillo 2010, tasting of Jamón, Paletilla y Serano and sooooooooooooooooooo much more